As we have seen, the marine industry is far from immune to incidents of cyber-attack and security breach, and the consequences can be far reaching. The new level of connectedness presents the industry with both opportunities for improving safety, as well as introducing new areas of risk.

The hardware and software that control processes, systems and equipment can be vulnerable to attack, therefore numerous risks need to be identified, understood and mitigated to make sure that smart ship technologies are safely integrated into ship design.

Cyber security must be considered as a fundamental component in the risk profile of assets that become digitally-enabled. DSME has been focusing its efforts on developing an appropriate cyber security governance system, working closely with SEANET Co., Ltd. – a supplier of ship’s computer network systems – to mitigate the risk of introducing vulnerabilities to cyber-attack, or other unauthorised access, as part of its plans to meet the market's needs for cyber security in shipping.

DSME Senior Executive Vice President, Mr. Odin Kwon commented: “We aim to embed cyber security seamlessly within our Smart Ship Solution to communicate between the asset and shore office safely to maximise ship operation benefits and manage the risks presented by connectivity. In connection with this initiative, we are glad to receive LR cyber security AiP which primarily assures that our smart ship system is able to provide a consistent, reliable and competitive service to our customers with minimum cyber security risk.”

LR’s Innovation Strategy and Research Director, Luis Benito said: “We are pleased to have been able to support DSME and establish their Smart Ship Solution’s compliance with our cyber security procedures. As more ships are starting to become digitally-enabled, we are very pleased to share DSME’s innovative drive to ensuring that adequate resilience is built in designing such ships, including resilience against cyber-attack.”